Concerns have been expressed that by the end of June, Powys County Council had only delivered £703,000 of this year’s gargantuan financial savings total of £15.428m.

But there is good news, as finance chiefs predict the council will land the 2026/27 budget at the end of the financial year with a surplus of £2.12m.

At a meeting of the Economy, Residents and Communities Scrutiny Committee on 9 September, councillors will receive a report showing how the council’s revenue budget has progressed during the first quarter of the financial year, between April 1 and June 30.

This year the council’s budget is £390.55m, and finance chiefs forecast the authority will spend £388.428m by the end of next March.

The report explained that the predicted position is a combination of forecast overspends, most notably £1.3m in Social Services and £300,000 in Highways, Transport and Recycling (HTR), which are “counterbalanced” by forecast underspends.

When the budget was set back in February, the cuts and savings target had been £12m.

The savings target has now leapt up to £15.428m after £3.4m in undelivered savings from last year was added to the total.

The report says that so far £703,000 has actually been achieved – although it does add that just over £14m is “assured” to be made by the end of the year.

Director of corporate services and S151 officer Jane Thomas said: “The underspend position reported at quarter one is positive; however, the low level of achieved savings is of concern.

“Maintaining financial resilience is predicated on the delivery of a balanced budget.

“Robust financial management and realignment of service delivery to remain within budget are essential.

“Assurance must be sought from heads of service that appropriate plans are in place to ensure delivery.”